2023-24 Academic Catalog

A usual evening in the theater consists of seeing a text--the play--staged by a director and performed by actors. While this is certainly a collaborative endeavor, recent decades have seen a marked increase in "devised theater," a mode intended to upset the traditional hierarchies of theatrical production. In practical terms, this means the abandonment of the extant text in favor of a performance "score"--sometimes textual, often physical--developed improvisationally in rehearsal by the performers. This course will explore the methods and approaches used to work in this collective and highly creative manner, and will culminate in a public performance. We will also discuss the history and cultural politics that inform devised practice. Prerequisite: Theater 110 or Dance 150 or 190 or instructor permission